Elkay said that Bill Blaine has announced his plans to retire effective Jan. 15, 2007, after 12 years of service. He joined Elkay as vice president of sales in January 1995 and was promoted to senior vice president of sales in February 2004.

The company said Blaine's leadership, relationships and experience within the plumbing industry helped it significantly increase sales for 12 consecutive years. One of Blaine's key accomplishments at Elkay was his focus on management training. He brought new people to the company and mentored managers. Blaine is also credited with helping make Elkay the No. 1 stainless steel sink supplier to The Home Depot for the last seven years. He has served on the board of directors for the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association, American Supply Association and the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Information Bureau.

Elkay said Blaine was instrumental in its receiving the Supplier of the Year award from both The Home Depot and the C.L. Watt Buying Group. Also, Blaine was the inaugural winner of the Leadership Award from Affiliated Distributors (AD) and was honored with the Partners in Performance Award from Grainger.

Before joining Elkay, Blaine spent 10 years with U.S. Brass, a division of Eljer. He also served as director of sales for Valley Faucets, Eastman Connector & Supply, Qest Plastic Piping and Glastec Fiberglass.

Blaine said he hopes to stay involved in the industry.